To mark National Inclusion Week, which in 2020 is from 28 September to 4 October, we’ve a blog post from IP Inclusive supporters Focal Point Training. They take a look at the importance of language in building an inclusive working culture, and provide some guidance for making your organisation’s internal policies more inclusive.
Focal Point established and deliver the Steps to Inclusion D&I review that has proved so popular among our Charter signatories. They have kindly offered a 10% discount for signatories, during National Inclusion Week, on a workshop to help you review and adapt your policies for greater inclusivity: see below.
They write:
Using inclusive language is part of the vital foundation for building a respectful and inclusive workplace. But it can be easy to fall into language that inadvertently excludes others and perpetuates stereotypes.
For example, talking about “manpower” or “man hours” or using phrases like “she’s nuts if she thinks that’s achievable”.
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29th-09-2020
Creating a reference document of best practices is an excellent way to assist and raise awareness of employees towards making inclusive language second nature in their work life. It may mean analysing all documentation to replace insensitive terms with neutral and more socially acceptable alternative terminology. IBM and Microsoft are currently making headlines for their efforts, on the heels of Twitter for example. https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-microsoft-staff-rally-to-remove-racially-insensitive-language-from-products/
Catherine Hamilton
28th-09-2020
Hope that wasn't an IP Inclusive event. If it was, please accept our apologies. It's a very valid point you make - and particularly resonant in view of last week's furore about defence barrister Alexandra Wilson's treatment in court.
ipinclusive
28th-09-2020
Great article! Very useful tools mentioned; I never realised Word had an inclusivity checker. Will be interested to try it. I was just thinking that perhaps another aspect of demonstrating inclusivity involves how we question people. For example, I finally managed to turn up to a Women in IP event (back in the days when big, face to face groups were ok!), which - although I'd been a member for a while - I hadn't before been free to. As I was struggling out of my coat, I was asked three times in different ways by the same woman whether I was a member. Initially, I just said yes, and gave my name. The other woman then queried: "But I've never seen you here before", in a doubting tone. So I explained why and said I was glad I could be here now. And then she said, as though cross-examining, "Do you actually work in IP?". By this time, I felt a number if emotions and none were very positive; they certainly didn't involve feeling included! In my experience, fostering inclusivity is often tied up with promoting feelings of belonging, and we can help people to feel included if we treat them as though they belong or at least could belong (as in a job application process), right from the start.
Julie Barrett